It is known in the prior art to bury inverted cups in a prearranged array for collecting gases for analyzing ore bodies therebelow. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,972 to Holub, et al. discloses attaching any one of a number of gas detectors to the inside bottom of a plastic drinking cup. The patent discloses that one such detector may be silver gauze for detecting mercury gas. These cups are buried in the earth at varying depths and left for a period of time for collecting the mercury gas or other specified gases that migrate from buried ore bodies through the earth and into the respective cups. After collection, the gas collected by the silver gauze or other collecting medium is analyzed by conducting a conventional atomic adsorption analysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,138 to Felice discloses suspending an alpha-sensitive dosimeter in an inverted cup between the bottom and open end to absorb alpha-radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,436 to Ward III discloses a radon detector which includes an inverted cup with a detection strip which is sensitive to radon gas and also includes a pervious membrane across the mouth of the cup.
Although each of the prior art devices is satisfactory for its intended use, none of them discloses a method which provides extremely reliable results at minimal cost.